Railway track is usually fixed to the underlying supporting sleeper made of timber, concrete or steel using a variety of fasteners including traditional heavy gauge coach screws into timber sleepers, or sprung steel clips of various designs inserted under load into sleeper fittings or collars on both sides of each track. Railway track fastening technology often relies on the use of basic hand tools, particularly where corrosion or binding between track components results in difficulty in removing or inserting clips. In the harsh Australian environment and generally over time, clips become corroded and therefore difficult to remove as they disintegrate, lose flexibility or become ‘welded’ to the rail or sleeper through corrosion. Removal of clips in these situations can be difficult and dangerous due to the need to improvise using a rivet punch and sledge hammer to impact the offending clip in order to dislodge and remove it. Often these techniques result in occupational health and safety risks due to sprung steel clips becoming dangerous projectiles when freed suddenly. Improvisation in the removal or installation process, using heavy tools such as sledge hammers, also results in the possibility for operator injury.
Recently, the emergence of specialised pneumatic or hydraulic equipment from a variety of international manufacturers has improved the safety, efficiency, and ease of clip insertion and removal. These machines are typically used by one or perhaps two operators, and usually consist of a chassis mounted and rolling on the track rail(s), and a workhead attached to the chassis and incorporating an insertion/removal mechanism. However, machines currently in the marketplace have several drawbacks:                1. They often do not sufficiently contain the clip during the insertion or removal operation and the energy from the deformed clip can transform it into a projectile and endanger the operator or surrounding crew;        2. The successful operation is dependent upon operator skill through alignment of the head with the clips; and        3. Particularly with heavily corroded clips, the operator must place a relatively high force to the machine to dislodge the clip.        